Bride and groom forced to open wedding cards while hotel security watches

A bride, fresh from her reception, and still wearing her wedding dress, was forced to open her wedding cards in order to come up with enough cash to pay her £500 hotel bill.

Sarah O'Leary, a 40-year-old PA from Bootle in Merseyside, didn't have her purse with her, because she didn't have any handy pockets in her dress. She told the Liverpool Echo that she had explained to staff at the James Street Hotel that her mum had her cash and cards, and would be back to have dinner with the couple the following day. She highlighted that they weren't going anywhere, as they had booked for two nights. Then she asked if she could pay the following day.

The reception staff at the Liverpool hotel weren't convinced, and pushed Sarah and her husband Stephen (33) for the cash. Eventually, she claims that a security guard escorted them to their room, and waited for them to open their wedding cards and cobble together the cash. She added that it had been 'an awful end to a perfect day."

The hotel said they had tried to contact the couple, and would continue to make efforts to resolve the matter.

Wedding hotel disasters

It was a humiliating experience for the couple, but they can take some comfort from the fact that things could have been worse.

Back in 2014, a wedding in a Manchester Hilton ended in disaster, when the bride and groom were thrown out. A row broke out when one of the guests tried to pay for their room by credit card, and the card was rejected. The bride and groom were involved in the argument, and things got fairly heated, so they were asked to leave. The continued their argument outside, where they abused and attacked the doorman. The pair were arrested and spent the night in separate cells.

Earlier this year, a couple left their reception, and went to a different hotel for their wedding night - where they had a nightmare end to the evening. They went for a drink with a few friends, and hotel staff seated them by a fireplace. At that point they were approached by guests from another wedding reception taking place at the hotel, who told them to move because the area was reserved. When they refused, the wedding guests attacked the groom, breaking his nose. They also punched the bride in the head. The couple decided not to stay at that hotel after all.

There are also occasions when disaster strikes though no fault of the couple. In May this year, we reported on a hotel in Gateshead, which was sold to a company that converted it to a care home. The business buying the hotel thought that all the weddings had been cancelled, so one couple only discovered the truth when the groom went down to pay the final balance shortly before their big day, and walked onto a building site.

Fortunately. these tales of woe can have a happy ending occasionally. We reported earlier this month on the couple who had booked their hotel venue two years in advance in Swindon. Unfortunately, two days before they were due to get married, the venue closed down. Hotel staff, however, were so concerned for the happy couple, that they showed up and worked for free to give the couple a day to remember.